Around the Majors

Troy Percival of the Rays is back on the DL for the third time this season. The closer is suffering from an injury to his right knee. The Rays will have a closer by committee. This is the worst case scenario for any owners who are in a battle for saves. If you have a chance go out and grab these guys Wheeler, Balfour, Howell, and even Miller. The most likely candidate will be Wheeler, who owns 4 saves this year, and is the only one who has major league experience in the closer position prior to this season.

Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals is back on the DL and for owners who thought he might give you a boost for stretch run just got hit hard. This former CY Young winner in 2005 now finds himself trying to recover from a shoulder strain. All owners should drop him ASAP and find another player. If he he outs the minimum 15 days, which I doubt he will, he will only give you 2/3 starts maximum. Plus, with his history of injury the Cards will most likely shut him down for the rest of the season.

Melky Cabrera of the Yankees is now finding a life outside the historic gates of Yankee Stadium and now catching fly balls in the minors. He was demoted after a terrible slump which has lasted since May. After a hot start in which he hit 7HRs he is not just hitting .240AVG. He should not be on any teams except AL-Only leagues but after his demotion he should be on the wire in all leagues.

Tom Glavine of the Braves is back on the DL. Owners, just drop him.

Billy Wagner of the Mets is scheduled to return to the bullpen on Monday when he is allowed to be activated. This is not soon enough for a bullpen that has been shelled in his absence.

A Few Things to Take Note of...

CC Sabathia of the Brewers is still cruising after being traded from the Indians. He is now 6-0 with his new team and has, alone, completely turned my one of my fantasy teams from being a bottom feeder to a contender. I don't see him turning into a terrible pitcher, like his start to the season, but if you are pretty solid in pitching but need some help in hitting go out and see if you can grab one of those great bats out there. Guys like Hanley, Wright, A-Rod, Holliday, and Sizemore are guys that should be in your trade negotiations.

Billy Wagner of the Mets is still recovering from a left arm strain and should be coming back from the DL when he is scheduled to but you never know with arm injuries. The bullpen is kind of in trouble so if you are in dyer need of saves look to Heilman or Kunz but at this moment your guess is as good as anyones since their bullpen sucks!

Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs has hit his 3rd HR of the season.

A-Rod of the Yankees is struggling but if you are in need of a hitter see if you can grab him from a disgruntled owner. You won't get him on a HUGE significant discount but you might find it a little easier to grab him.

Mike Aviles of the Royals continues to hit. In his past ten games he has raised his AVG from .314 to .341 while collecting 21Hs with 2HRs. This is a guy you want on your team RIGHT NOW!

Wagner Time

Last night Billy Wagner blew his 3rd consecutive save opportunity. In a previous post I suggested that this wasn't a problem and there is nothing to worry about and I'm going to stick with this. Wagner is just going through a tough spot in the season and in my eyes, this is a stat correction. Wagner was not going to stay at a 0.36ERA, which is where he was at before the 3 consecutive blown saves.

His career ERA is 2.40 and his current ERA is 2.33 so he is diverting back to his career average. As long as he doesn't have any physical pain he should overcome this stretch of trouble on the mound.

Pitchers

BJ Ryan of the Blue Jays was ejected from the game last night after arguing balls and strikes. Of course this isn't the big news. Ryan gave up an ER which gave the lead to the Mariners and resulted in a Jays loss. This is the 3rd loss for Ryan in the past 5 appearances. With Ryan looking very normal and hittable, look to Scott Downs for more save opportunities. With Ryan's surgery repaired arm there just might be some problems or complications which is hurting his delivery and location.

Shaun Marcum of the Jays is doing very well on the mound as of late. In his last 5 starts he has given up a total of 5ER's over a span of 28.1 innings. Incredible. Pick him up if he is available.

Tom Glavine of the Braves is the on DL for the second time this season and for the second time in his entire career. I think the days of Glavine and Smoltz is over. Forget Glavine and drop him.

Billy Wagner of the Mets blew his second consecutive save opportunity last night by giving up 2ER's. As long as there is no physical pain/injury this won't be a problem. Wagner with all his experience will get out of this rut.

JJ Putz of the Mariners left the game with a sore right elbow. This is bad news for Putz owners. If you have Putz, go out and grab Morrow and/or Rowland-Smith.

Closers

H. Street of the A's had a 4 out save with 1K. Owners, just hope he has turned the corner from a poor start to the season. Street has value and should be kept in your line up.

Brad Lidge of the Phillies recorded save and finished a nicely pitched game from teammate B. Myers. Remember when Lidge was on the DL and how crap Gordon was pitching? Well, no more Gordon and hopefully more of Lidge. Owners...Lidge is a good closer but seems to have periods of inconsistency. Keep him in your lineup though.

B. Wagner of the Mets recorded his first save of the season by pitching a perfect 9th. Owners should be happy with Wagner and there isn't much to say about him except he is one of the elite closers in the bigs.

Moylan of the Braves recorded the save and might be the newly crowned closer after Soriano was placed on the DL. As I said in a previous post, make sure to pick up Moylan and Boyer top hedge your risk.